Advice on spellsword build

[Lord Garon]

My 2 cents... Lots of perks are needed for a spellsword. I had the problem of leveling up and only having one or two perks in many different skill sets, didn't work that well. Good armor is needed for dual wield cause you can't block. Good stamina is needed for dual wielding cause you need to close fast (sprint) and dual wield power attacks are just devastating. Stamina fights with magicka and health when you level. Balancing a spellsword is more difficult than most characters. Enchanting is your best friend and alchemy is a real pal, and both can make lots of money.

 

I never liked restoration that much; potions are quick, don't use magicka, and you don't have to re-equip to use them; perfect for healing in combat, especially if you hotkey them in Favorites. With defensive magic and dual wield, I would focus on good armor first cause multiple opponents can really beat you up with 2H weapons if you can't block. Lots of stamina will let you get in quick, deliver some dual wield power attacks, and get away quick if things aren't going to plan.

 

Heavy armor (at least steel smithing), enchanting, 1 handed, conjuration. Sounds awesome.

[Psiberzerker]

My 2 cents... Lots of perks are needed for a spellsword. I had the problem of leveling up and only having one or two perks in many different skill sets, didn't work that well.

Simplify, Man! Start off with 1H, Destruction Or Conjuration, and Heavy armor. As you level up, you should have enough perk points to go around for a while, and be able to handle most fights easilly. I don't worry about Stamina, as long as I have enough to Critical Charge. While that's going back up, I'm using Magicka to blast them, while straffing around, do another Critical Charge. Great for Giants, and Mammoths, because you always have one gauge recovering while the other is being used. Also, wear Robes with heavy boots, gloves, and helmet (I like a Dragon Preist mask, like Vokun, Nahkriin, Morokei, or Otar.) You should have plenty of stamina if you're not sprinting to make up for being slowed down by all that armor. You only need enough to avoid being 1 shotted, so you can heal, and with Restoration, you get your stamina back.

 

A High Elf in robes with a light sword, and spells in hand doesn't have to sprint normally. They're fast enough, and just need to hit Alt long enough to trigger the Charge bonus. Not spending Any points on Stamina means having more for Magicka, or with an Altmer, Health, since they get a head start. I also use Redguard, because their early boost to 1H means I can focus on Magic the first few levels. By the time you're up to Ebony, you might want to think about Smithing to improve your weapon/armor. Use that grind to level up, and free more perks. Same with Enchanting, I don't usually bother with Alchemy. (In fact, I rarely do much crafting, I don't have the patience.)

 

I know the standard consensus build is the bookshelf trained Crafting loop tank battlemage, but thats a no brainer build. Capped out armor, so you don't have to worry about getting hit, Impact so you can chain stun, and the +500 magic Daedric sword of please don't hit me with that to 1 shot anything that gets close. You Have to get to level 81 to get all the perks to take advantage of all the glitches in every tree. Phagh, I can kill anything in the game with a spellsword at level 29. http://skyrimcalculator.com/#143900 Still the 3rd tier of NPC difficulty.

 

Spellsword/Battlemage is already a complex build, don't complicate it more by trying to do everthing. Just leave off Dual Casting/weild, and after that, splash in Conjuration for bound sword, and accellerated leveling. Once you start leveling slower is when I add new skills like backups, crafting, and support. The early mobs are easy enough to take with that starter build, 30 is about when they start getting tough with the low Destruction cap.

 

I usually do a Spellblade with an Axe, so I can stack the bleeding damage with the burn from fire spells. Since I'm making passes with Critical Charge while my gauge recovers, this keeps them taking damage the whole time during transitions. I generally never dual cast, because of the Magicka inefficiency, and delay to draw my axe when they get close. If you need to drop another one in for Dual Flurry, and Elemental Fury (I call it Dual/Fury) then the left hand drops in instantly, so you can keep the damage coming. This is how i manage all three gauges so I don't need more than 130 (Gaulder Amulet) stamina to carry my Daedric Armor of Free Destruction, and leave the Steed slot open for the Lord, or Atronach. (Lord for Conjuration, so I can use Vokun/Flaming Familiar.)

 

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559819354429047383/67F1FDCCE523B1158B0046329C728C64B4C469C8/

Edited June 30, 2012 by Psiberzerker

[Psiberzerker]

I do Destruction first, then Conjuration. Mostly to get all my training in Combat, D is most effective early in the game when Firebolt will 1 shot base Draugr, before the damage caps off. Then, Conjuration assists by giving you Bound Sword, and a Flame Atronach to pelt them with more firebolts. (I also use a good follower, like Jenassa.) This way, you're ahead on the damage curve throughout the levels as the NPCs get harder. The combination of Bound Sword, and an Atronach levels you quickly, so you can keep the perks coming, while your lower secondary skills (Like Armor, and 1 handed, since you don't get hit, nor have to swing as much) keep gaining experience.

 

Of course, if you do it all at once, you run straight into the toughest tier right away. No need for Iron-Ebony, that's just for Bandit Cheifs, and Marauders to get killed in, while you stand there and laugh in fully tempered Daedric. I don't do the AlcEnchSmith, because I can't stand spending the first half of the game preparing to play it. That, and Master level loses it's challenge when you reduce all physical damage to 20%, magical damage to 15, and 1 shot everthing that doesn't have wings. I mostly play Skyrim for the combat, so using it to train my skills means I can fight almost constantly, from Unbound to The World Eater's Eyrie. If I am Smithing, I take a short break every 10 levels, or so to move up to the next teir. Enchanting I train in combat topping off my weapons (most of which are scripted, like Red Eagle's Bane, or TMoMB) and staffs (Like the Lightning spammer.) It's a lot slower, but that makes the game last a lot longer before every random encounter is at least one dragon, which barely registers as a fight, because it can't hurt you, and you have to hit them twice after you knock them out of the sky.

 

Not telling you, nor anyone how to play, but this is how I do, and why.

[Lord Garon]

 

My 2 cents... Lots of perks are needed for a spellsword. I had the problem of leveling up and only having one or two perks in many different skill sets, didn't work that well.

 

Simplify, Man! Start off with 1H, Destruction Or Conjuration, and Heavy armor...

<snip>

 

Thanks for the great info, but that's what I was trying to say. Spellswords just need perks in more skills than, say, a pure mage or pure warrior and you can end up with a bunch of diluted skills if you don't focus. Its why I recommended only four skill areas to start. My last "Battlemage" was retired after becoming OP and somewhat boring. I don't want to hijack this thread, I was just pointing out some things that got me on my first build.

[Psiberzerker]

Thanks for the great info, but that's what I was trying to say. Spellswords just need perks in more skills than, say, a pure mage or pure warrior and you can end up with a bunch of diluted skills if you don't focus. Its why I recommended only four skill areas to start. My last "Battlemage" was retired after becoming OP and somewhat boring. I don't want to hijack this thread, I was just pointing out some things that got me on my first build.

Not really, if you concentrate on 1 school, like destruction, it just replaces Block. If you can go unarmored (It's tricky, but a lot of fun) you can do it with just 2 skills, Destruction, and 1H. (I highlyh recomend the lord stone for this.) Critical Charge, and Firebolt is a nasty combo, especially with an axe to stack bleed on the burn. Use the sprint to go right through the melee, then maybe kite them onto a Rune before you turn around for the next pass. These tactics have enough offense, and evasion to offset a complete lack of defense, so I suggest Redguard for this build. 15 starting skill levels in 1H/Destruction, and the daily power for extended runs with Necromancer, or high level Destruction robes to top it off. Just make sure you bolt the archers/mages first, then have your way with the melee'ers.

 

Archers have it the simplest. Sneak, and a bow will get you through the whole game. You can add in Light Armor for all the wonderful stealth sets (Krosis, Gauntlets of the Old Gods, and Shrouded/Nitengale peicemail) or 1H for a backup, but they're unneccessary. I've got a 2 skill Kajit in shrouded/Jester clothes that uses Claws for backup, because they come out instantly, and don't level up at below level 20, maxed. But that's definitely a tangent.

 

I'm new here, so I don't know how you guys feel about hijacking, or thread necromancy. (Sorry.) If you let me know, I'll stop, but I generally don't do either unless I have something new, and interesting to add. I'm pretty sure the OP stopped checking this thread long ago...

[Kyuukei]

Personally I use Shortswords and Mage Armor for the added agility. The faster you can evade and move around, the more easily you can switch to blowing s*** up at will :thumbsup:

 

Destruction, Alteration, and Conjuration are the ways to go; summons can make invaluable tanks and buy time for repositioning. Aside from the basic 'improve damage' perks and Bladesman, I didn't really invest in any 1H perks for a while; only in the late 40's have I gotten any additional perks for it beyond Decapitation because that was cool.

 

Frost damage is a good enchantment type to start off with, especially if using a fast weapon, because the rapid strikes will prevent enemies from using power attacks at all, which is crucial to close combat survival. Absorb Health is also pretty cool because it enables you to maintain your offensive momentum for longer without stopping to heal, but it tends to be expensive/rare.

 

Restoration, while a Perfectly Valid School of Magic, doesn't really need to be perked up aside from Regeneration, Recovery, and Respite; you might want Apprentice cost reduction early on but in the long term it's probably best to just not bother since it doesn't help much later. Auto-life is awesome though, especially for lower-HP builds like mine, so consider that when your Restoration nears 90.

 

This is what I learned on my second run, and it results in a build that is fairly squishy due to low HP (in my case anyway) but has very high output levels. It's my usual M.O. and I rather like it.

[Psiberzerker]

Personally I use Shortswords and Mage Armor for the added agility. The faster you can evade and move around, the more easily you can switch to blowing s*** up at will :thumbsup:

 

Destruction, Alteration, and Conjuration are the ways to go; summons can make invaluable tanks and buy time for repositioning. Aside from the basic 'improve damage' perks and Bladesman, I didn't really invest in any 1H perks for a while; only in the late 40's have I gotten any additional perks for it beyond Decapitation because that was cool.

 

Frost damage is a good enchantment type to start off with, especially if using a fast weapon, because the rapid strikes will prevent enemies from using power attacks at all, which is crucial to close combat survival. Absorb Health is also pretty cool because it enables you to maintain your offensive momentum for longer without stopping to heal, but it tends to be expensive/rare.

 

Restoration, while a "Perfectly Valid School of Magic", doesn't really need to be perked up aside from Regeneration, Recovery, and Respite; you might want Apprentice cost reduction early on but in the long term it's probably best to just not bother since it doesn't help much later.

I did pretty much that exact build with a Redguard early on. They seemed made for it, with their new magical skills. I later switched to Heavy Armor/robes bcause I didn't like the Magicka Drain, and spell juggle from casting my armor. I highly recomend the TG arc for the Nightengale Blade, and Mercer's Dwarven Sword of Devouring. Save it for after level 30, to fully level the blade, though, and the Gauldur Blackblade.

 

I agree with Alteration over Restoration, the Magic Resistance, and Atronach perks keep you from taking damage, and fill up your blue gauge. Also, Detect Un/Life is increadibly handy, compared with Turn Undead. (Also, Guardian Circle/of Protection are great Magicka wells for passive spell absorbtion with a Breton/Atronach build.) I usually only do Resto for Ward Absorb on an Imperial Spell/Shield build. (Similar, but different combo, the ward powers Destruction, which you can cast right through it.) Zot Archers first, because their arrows go right through Wards.

Edited June 30, 2012 by Psiberzerker

[Enatiomorph]

A Spellsword uses both Restoration and Alteration. Your 'typical' one that is.

[Psiberzerker]

A Spellsword uses both Restoration and Alteration. Your 'typical' one that is.

And Heavy Armor, if you're talking about the 3rd era classes, but the beauty of Skyrim is you're no longer limited to the classic builds. You can do whatever you want. My personal definition of a Spellsword is 1handed, and some sort of magic in each hand. Anything beyond that is optional. You could even do Illusion, and a mace, it's remarcably effective.

[Enatiomorph]

But doing whatever you want doesnt always end up being a class (or what your trying to be). Plus you could do whatever you wanted in every previous ES with custom classes, sans Arena. Spellswords do have illusion as a skill. And technically there are still classes in Skyrim as most NPCs have one, from followers to enemies. An ES without classes would suck. Edited June 30, 2012 by Enatiomorph